Armed Forces Recruiters Becoming Sexual Predators Options

[dauss]

Predators in uniform
Records show a rise in attacks on girls who show an interest in joining the service.

More than 100 women who expressed interest in joining the military in the past year were preyed upon sexually by their recruiters.

Women were raped on recruiting office couches, assaulted in government cars and groped en route to entrance exams.

A six-month Associated Press investigation found that 83 military recruiters were disciplined last year for sexual misconduct with potential enlistees. The cases occurred across all branches of the military and in all regions of the country.

“The recruiter had all the power,” said one 18-year-old victim. “He had the uniform. He had my future. I trusted him.”

At least 35 Army recruiters, 18 Marine Corps recruiters, 18 Navy recruiters and 12 Air Force recruiters were disciplined for sexual misconduct or other inappropriate behavior with potential enlistees in 2005, according to records obtained by the AP under dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests. That’s significantly more than the handful of cases disclosed in the past decade.

The AP also found:

•In the Army, which accounts for almost half of the military, 722 recruiters have been accused of rape and sexual misconduct since 1996.

•Across all services, one out of 200 front-line recruiters — who deal directly with young people — was disciplined for sexual misconduct last year.

•Some cases of improper behavior involved romantic relationships, and sometimes those relationships were initiated by the women.

•Most recruiters found guilty of sexual misconduct are disciplined administratively, facing a reduction in rank or forfeiture of pay. Military and civilian prosecutions are rare.

•The increase in sexual misconduct incidents is consistent with overall recruiter wrongdoing, which has increased from just over 400 cases in 2004 to 630 cases in 2005, according to a General Accounting Office report.

The Pentagon has committed more than $1.5 billion to recruiting efforts this year. Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, a Defense Department spokeswoman, insisted that each of the services took the issue of sexual misconduct by recruiters “very seriously and has processes in place to identify and deal with those members who act inappropriately.”

For this report, the AP interviewed victims in their homes and perpetrators in jail, and read police and court accounts of assaults and in one case portions of a victim’s journal.

The sexual misconduct almost always takes place in recruiting stations, recruiters’ apartments or government vehicles. The victims are typically 16 to 18 years old.

Shedrick Hamilton landed in Oneida Correctional Facility in upstate New York for 15 months for having sex with a 16-year-old high school student he met while working as a Marine Corps recruiter.

“I should have pushed her away,” he said, explaining that the girl had flirted with him.

He was convicted of third-degree rape and left the service with an other-than-honorable discharge.

Sometimes these incidents are indisputable, forcible rapes.

Other sexual misconduct is more nuanced. Recruiters insist the victims were interested in them, and sometimes the victims agree.

Anita Sanchez, director of communications at the Miles Foundation, a national advocacy group for victims of violence in the military, bristles at the idea that the enlistees, even if they flirt or ask to date recruiters, are willingly having sex with them.

“You have a recruiter who can enable you to join the service or not join the service,” she said.

“That has life-changing implications for you as a high school student or college student.”

All the recruiters with whom the AP spoke said they were routinely alone in their offices and cars with girls. They also all agreed that the lines were clear: Recruiters do not sleep with enlistees.

In Indiana, where a National Guard recruiter, Sgt. Eric Vetesy, was charged with 31 counts of rape, sexual battery, official misconduct and corrupt business influence, military officials have instituted a “No One Alone” policy to prevent further incidents.

Seeking justice outside the military


Dissatisfied with the military’s handling of sexual assault cases involving recruiters, some prosecutors and victims are challenging the misconduct on their own.

Most such cases are handled administratively by the military. For example, 13 of the 19 Air Force recruiters whose misconduct was confirmed since 2004 received letters of reprimand and fines.

In seeking greater penalties, victims and local authorities have taken unusual steps.

In South Dakota, Laveeta Elk, an Oglala Sioux woman, is suing the federal government under an 1868 treaty that says if “bad men” among government officials commit “any wrong” upon the person or property of any Sioux, the United States will reimburse the injured person for the loss.

Elk says she was assaulted by an Army recruiter, Sgt. Joseph Kopf, in his government car when he stopped in a remote area while driving her to a military evaluation center. Kopf has been demoted and reassigned within the Army, officials said. Kopf could not be reached for comment.

In another case, prosecutor Barbara Trathen of Hamilton County, Ind., has charged a National Guard recruiter, Sgt. Eric Vetesy, with racketeering along with 31 counts of rape and sexual battery. Trathen said the racketeering law bans corrupt business influence and official misconduct.

[Seussninja]

.